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About the GMS Teaching Staff and Programs

The Elementary Program (ages 6 - 12)

Montessori education is based on the belief that each person carries a love of learning within himself or herself, which, given the proper environment, becomes a motivating force to explore the world. A child who has been encouraged to explore and allowed to self-direct from an early age will carry throughout life the tendency to be an active, creative, and broadly focused learner.

The Montessori Elementary classroom continues the experience of individualized learning the children benefit from in the primary years. Respect for each child, for the process of exploration, and for the classroom community is paramount. Social development blossoms with the three-year age span, as the spirit of cooperation inherent in the life of the group encourages children to create friendships that have greater depth.

The foundations of self-direction and innovation laid in the primary program will serve the older child well. Children who enter the program without the primary experience will receive special attention in order to encourage the development of the self-motivated learner within.

The children are divided by age into the Younger Elementary (6-9 years) and the Older Elementary (9-12 years) classrooms. While there are some age-appropriate differences in the curriculum in each class, they both follow the same general format and approach.

The classroom emphasis on respect for the individual and the life of the group is augmented by community service. Projects such as clean-up in the downtown area, visits to nursing homes, or coordinating a food drive stimulates the 6-12 year old's interest in life in the greater community.